Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
02/09/2011 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB126 | |
| HB125 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 125 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 126-OMNIBUS BOARD EXTENSIONS
3:17:44 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 126, "An Act extending the termination dates of
the Board of Nursing, the Board of Dental Examiners, the Board
of Barbers and Hairdressers, the Regulatory Commission of
Alaska, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; and providing
for an effective date."
3:17:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, Alaska State Legislature, stated
that two bills originated in the Legislative Budget and Audit
Committee (LB&A), and as Chair of the committee he is presenting
the bills before this committee today. The first bill is a
housekeeping matter. Many boards and commissions have sunset
dates to allow the legislature to periodically consider whether
programs are fulfilling their desired tasks and if it is
appropriate for a specific board or commission to continue.
Historically, the legislature has considered each board or
commission individually. In response to Chair Olson, he agreed
that this bill consolidates sunset audits into one omnibus board
extension bill. He pointed out that legislators have
historically separated reauthorization bills from policy bills
and he cautioned the committee not to clutter HB 126 with policy
changes.
3:21:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER explained the legislative auditor's
function. The legislative auditor conducts administrative
reviews of the management and operation of boards or commissions
and provides a detailed report to the legislature through the
Legislative Budget and Audit Committee (LB&A). The
recommendations made in HB 126 reflect the recommendations made
by the division via the legislative auditor, Pat Davidson. This
bill would extend the following boards and commissions for eight
years to June 30, 2019, as recommended by the legislative
auditor: Board of Barbers and Hairdressers, the Board of Dental
Examiners, the Board of Nursing, and the Regulatory Commission
of Alaska. The legislative auditor also recommended the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) be extended to June
30, 2015. Last year during a sunset audit review process of the
ABC Board, the auditor detailed operational and administration
issues for the ABC Board. The legislature extended the ABC
Board for one year only to allow the ABC Board to make
administrative management corrections. The legislative auditor
has since reviewed the board's activities and has cleared the
"to do" list from the original audit. This bill now would
recommend the ABC Board be extended for an additional four
years. He recapped that HB 126 reauthorizes agencies which have
passed muster with the legislative auditor.
3:23:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES stated that she liked the new format for
sunset reviews. She pointed out one discrepancy. The
legislative auditor recommended the ABC Board be extended to
2014, but the bill would extend the ABC Board until June 30,
2015. She said she was unsure whether she was reviewing an old
audit or if the most recent audit is in members' packets.
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER agreed Representative Holmes has
identified an anomaly in the ABC Board's audit. He explained
that the original audit identified the ABC Board's problems but
still recommended a four-year extension. However, the
legislature decided only to extend the ABC Board for one year,
tasked it with correcting any deficiencies, and the legislative
auditor reported the board's progress in an update to the sunset
audit. As the Chair of the LB&A Committee, he said he
considered whether to extend the ABC Board for four years from
this point forward or to use the auditor's updated review date
as a starting point. He ultimately decided to select the
extension date as four years from this point forward, he said.
3:25:39 PM
PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Division of Legislative
Audit, Alaska State Legislature, said she was available to
answer questions on any of the audits contained in HB 126.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES related that she noticed a number of
concerns had been raised by the auditor. She asked for an
update on the auditor's findings since the last legislative
audit.
MS. DAVIDSON explained that in the FY 09 audit, which was during
the last sunset review, the auditors made two recommendations to
the ABC Board. The first recommendation was with respect to its
enforcement policies. She related that the auditors wanted to
see quantifiable and objective enforcement goals and for the
board to communicate specific goals to its staff to carry out.
The second recommendation contained "a bit of a laundry list" of
administrative issues, she said. She reported that the
administrative operations have been substantially addressed.
She noted while the ABC Board has made some progress with
respect to its enforcement issues, these issues were not
substantially resolved. The auditors found a mix of issues in
terms of establishing objective quantifiable enforcement goals.
The auditors would like the public and legislature to be able to
review the ABC Board's enforcement operations and be able to
evaluate whether the enforcement goals were met.
3:29:09 PM
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 126.
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER, in response to Chair Olson, expressed his
intent to limit any changes to HB 126 solely to address sunset
provisions and not on policy matters. He acknowledged that
members may have issues with those specific boards and
commissions' policies. He urged members to address specific
policy issues in separate legislation and not to make policy
changes in HB 126, the omnibus bill.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to report HB 126 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 126 was reported from the
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.